Justin Bieber’s Coachella Sets Were About Healing His Inner Child (And Ours)
When Justin Bieber emerged on the scene in 2010, it was one of the most chaotic periods of my life. I was one of the few Black girls in my school, surrounded by teachers who seemed to make it their mission to single me out. At the same time, my parents’ relationship was falling apart. Whether I was at home or at school, I never truly felt like I belonged. Over the years, Bieber became something bigger to me. While my parents verbally abused each other, I played his music, filled with romance and joy, in my room. To me, he represented the possibility of being seen differently, of being liked, and of being chosen. Nearly 20 years later, I was still infected with Bieber Fever, and I wasn’t about to miss Bieberchella. I was invited to Coachella for Weekend 1 by Heineken, and all I could see was a sea of purple fitted caps and photos of a now 32-year-old Justin Bieber as a teenager. It felt obvious: this wasn’t just about the performance in front of us. Every Belieber was chasing a version of him (and of ourselves) that we first met back then. But he has changed, and so have we. Seeing him brought me back to my younger self and everything she was trying to escape. It wasn’t just about watching him perform. It was about confronting the girl I used to be and healing some of that past hurt. Here’s every emotion I felt seeing Justin Bieber live at Coachella. The Internet is Always in The Room Social media and the billion-dollar industry built around attention have changed the way we experience everything — especially live music. As a social producer, I know this firsthand. After a while, even the most present moments can start to feel like they are being optimized for output. Make no mistake, I love my job. But sometimes life starts to feel like it is reduced to IG reels and likes. This show felt like a defining moment for his career, and everyone in the crowd seemed to feel it too. So as I waited for Bieber’s show to begin, I could not fully shake my social-first mindset. I kept wondering how the internet would react to his performance and what they would say about it afterward. I reflected on his career, the highs, the lows, and what I had contributed to the pressure surrounding it. At just 15, his interests, his relationships, his family all became part of a brand. He was sold to me like a product, and I bought right into it. This show felt like a defining moment for his career, and everyone in the crowd seemed to feel it too. Justin Bieber Earned The Right To Be Himself When Bieber came out, it was very different from the show from my childhood. No dancers. No fireworks. Just Justin. He was alone, swallowed behind a hoodie and sunglasses. It was almost jarring. This was not the version of him we grew up with. The polished, larger-than-life pop star was stripped back to something quieter. With nothing to focus on but him, I wondered what it would feel like to experience him as an artist rather than an icon. For the first time, I actually listened. He spent the first half of the show focused on his newer music, projects that explored intimacy, self-belief, self-doubt, and growth. Tears filled my eyes as he sang “Everything Hallelujah” and praised God for his family and the simple parts of life. This show was not for us, it was for him. It was the most human I have ever seen him. The crowd didn’t erupt, but they didn’t turn away either. There was a quiet understanding between him and the audience. We had spent nearly 20 years growing up alongside each other. As his music evolved, so did we. As I watched him take in the crowd, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a kind of relief in it for him. We weren’t asking him to be who he used to be. We were simply there, with him, as he is now. Connection At Coachella Is Key (Just Ask Heineken) When he switched from his new to old music, the crowd went nuts, myself included. Even standing alone, I was far from lonely. I sang with strangers like we had known each other for years. We belted out the hits, “That Should Be Me,” “Baby,” “Beauty and a Beat,” like they had just been released. Each song carried a different memory, a different version of ourselves that somehow still lived within us. This show was not for us, it was for him. It was the most human I have ever seen him… if you’ve been paying attention, what he delivered at Coachella is exactly (and more) what people should have been expecting. Even Heineken’s “Clinker” tapped into that same energy. A small LED band wrapped around drinks, lighting up when people connected over shared music taste, turning a simple cheers into something more. Across the festival, it felt like one of many attempts to stretch fleeting moments of connection just a little longer. And maybe that is what Coachella is really about. Not just the music, but the way it briefly makes strangers feel less like strangers. Still, as a social producer, I could not help but wonder how the internet
Black News 
When Justin Bieber emerged on the scene in 2010, it was one of the most chaotic periods of my life. I was one of the few Black girls in my school, surrounded by teachers who seemed to make it their mission to single me out. At the same time, my parents’ relationship was falling apart. Whether I was at home or at school, I never truly felt like I belonged.
Over the years, Bieber became something bigger to me. While my parents verbally abused each other, I played his music, filled with romance and joy, in my room. To me, he represented the possibility of being seen differently, of being liked, and of being chosen.
Nearly 20 years later, I was still infected with Bieber Fever, and I wasn’t about to miss Bieberchella. I was invited to Coachella for Weekend 1 by Heineken, and all I could see was a sea of purple fitted caps and photos of a now 32-year-old Justin Bieber as a teenager. It felt obvious: this wasn’t just about the performance in front of us. Every Belieber was chasing a version of him (and of ourselves) that we first met back then.
But he has changed, and so have we. Seeing him brought me back to my younger self and everything she was trying to escape. It wasn’t just about watching him perform. It was about confronting the girl I used to be and healing some of that past hurt. Here’s every emotion I felt seeing Justin Bieber live at Coachella.
The Internet is Always in The Room
Social media and the billion-dollar industry built around attention have changed the way we experience everything — especially live music. As a social producer, I know this firsthand. After a while, even the most present moments can start to feel like they are being optimized for output. Make no mistake, I love my job. But sometimes life starts to feel like it is reduced to IG reels and likes.
This show felt like a defining moment for his career, and everyone in the crowd seemed to feel it too.
So as I waited for Bieber’s show to begin, I could not fully shake my social-first mindset. I kept wondering how the internet would react to his performance and what they would say about it afterward. I reflected on his career, the highs, the lows, and what I had contributed to the pressure surrounding it. At just 15, his interests, his relationships, his family all became part of a brand. He was sold to me like a product, and I bought right into it. This show felt like a defining moment for his career, and everyone in the crowd seemed to feel it too.
Justin Bieber Earned The Right To Be Himself
When Bieber came out, it was very different from the show from my childhood. No dancers. No fireworks. Just Justin.
He was alone, swallowed behind a hoodie and sunglasses. It was almost jarring. This was not the version of him we grew up with. The polished, larger-than-life pop star was stripped back to something quieter. With nothing to focus on but him, I wondered what it would feel like to experience him as an artist rather than an icon. For the first time, I actually listened.
He spent the first half of the show focused on his newer music, projects that explored intimacy, self-belief, self-doubt, and growth. Tears filled my eyes as he sang “Everything Hallelujah” and praised God for his family and the simple parts of life. This show was not for us, it was for him. It was the most human I have ever seen him.
The crowd didn’t erupt, but they didn’t turn away either. There was a quiet understanding between him and the audience. We had spent nearly 20 years growing up alongside each other. As his music evolved, so did we. As I watched him take in the crowd, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a kind of relief in it for him. We weren’t asking him to be who he used to be. We were simply there, with him, as he is now.
Connection At Coachella Is Key (Just Ask Heineken)
When he switched from his new to old music, the crowd went nuts, myself included. Even standing alone, I was far from lonely. I sang with strangers like we had known each other for years. We belted out the hits, “That Should Be Me,” “Baby,” “Beauty and a Beat,” like they had just been released. Each song carried a different memory, a different version of ourselves that somehow still lived within us.
This show was not for us, it was for him. It was the most human I have ever seen him… if you’ve been paying attention, what he delivered at Coachella is exactly (and more) what people should have been expecting.
Even Heineken’s “Clinker” tapped into that same energy. A small LED band wrapped around drinks, lighting up when people connected over shared music taste, turning a simple cheers into something more. Across the festival, it felt like one of many attempts to stretch fleeting moments of connection just a little longer. And maybe that is what Coachella is really about. Not just the music, but the way it briefly makes strangers feel less like strangers. Still, as a social producer, I could not help but wonder how the internet would react to such a stripped-down set. Resellers were listing festival tickets for over $6K, and I could almost hear the scrutiny before I even logged back on. But Bieber hasn’t been the performer with background dancers and pyrotechnics for years, and if you’ve been paying attention, what he delivered at Coachella is exactly (and more) what people should have been expecting.
We Can All Protect Our Inner Child
When his set closed and the fireworks went off, I stood there in complete awe. For 90 minutes, I met my inner child again, and she felt proud of who I had become. And I can imagine that Bieber felt the same way. As he sang along to YouTube videos from his youth, it was like he was speaking to the kid who got famous so fast, who has gone through more public scrutiny than anyone ever should in one lifetime, let alone as a child. Watching Bieber sing to his former self — as a father who now seems to be doing much better — was healing.
To me and the true Beliebers (looking at you, Billie Eilish!), watching Bieberchella was a full circle moment that proved we chose right when we fell in love with him all those years ago. And it was a reminder to be proud of the people we’ve become along the way — no matter what trials and tribulations got us here. Seeing him live allowed me to reconnect with that 12-year-old version of myself in a new way. Not to escape her, but to recognize her. To celebrate her by celebrating him.
I walked out of my festival and intentionally left my phone on Do Not Disturb. I let go of the need to see what everyone else thought before forming my own. For once, the experience was just mine.
And maybe, in a strange way, I have Justin Bieber to thank for that.
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